Proverbs 14

Proverbs 14

Mmmmhmmm! Lots of good stuff here.
"The wise woman builds her house, But the foolish tears it down with her own hands." (14:1) This verse is so similar to yesterdays, "she who shames [her husband] is as rottenness to his bones." The godly woman will build up her husband and show him respect, but so many instead tear their husbands down and wonder why he is not the spiritual leader. Many men work hard all day and come home to a nagging wife, tearing her husband down further, so he retreats into mindless TV, video games, or other diversions. A vicious cycle with both people at fault, but enough on the wives already!

Verse 4, "Where no oxen are, the manger is clean, But much revenue {comes} by the strength of the ox." - So often we don't want to get our hands dirty, we don't want to take a chance, take a risk and step out in faith. We fear that if we do, we will have a mess to clean up. We forget that there are no "chances" with God; simply walking by faith in obedience. We should follow Pastor Chuck Smith's lead and "venture in faith." Where God guides, he will provide, he will bless, he will confirm his direction.

Finally, one last verse I have to comment on: Verse 7 "Leave the presence of a fool, Or you will not discern words of knowledge." If we can't discern which way to go, maybe we have too many foolish people around us cluttering our minds. We need to reach out to our friends, but we also need to recognize when we are brought down by the worldly thoughts of our friends. Do you have friends that are always talking about spiritual things? Do you have other friends that hardly talk about the Lord? Where do you spend your time? If you are spending your time with the friends that don't talk about the Lord, or don't even know Him, are you lovingly sharing the gospel with them? If not, why? Are those friendships "spurring you on to love and good deeds" or reminiscing your carnal days? Either be a leader and direct the conversation to spiritual things, demonstrate your love and compassion and tell the truth, or consider spending more time with your spiritual friends until you are strong enough to be bolder with the others.

Lord, give us the wisdom to know what to do, and the courage to do it regardless of the cost.